Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The Second Half

Title: The Second
Half

Author: Lauraine Snelling

Pages: 368

Year: 2016

Publisher: Faithwords

My rating is 4 stars.

I would have to say that this novel was somewhat hard to get
through, but not because of the poor writing.
I think it was the emotionally impacted story of grandparents who looked
forward to retirement and other adventures whose lives were turned upside down
when their son who is a single parent is deployed. On top of being deployed, some time later the
parents were informed of him being listed as MIA.

The novel seemed realistic and it gripped my heart to read
the rollercoaster of a ride the parents, son and his kids go through,
especially after being MIA. I thought it
brought home the cost most families don’t see even the impact on their day-to-day
lives. Plus the tension in the novel was
climbing with each trial or testing the family was going through, learning how
to walk through the season of not knowing about their son.

The novel also shows pretty unashamedly how depression can
turn lives upside down and inside out, how those around them may feel about
having to live with someone who struggles with it and learning how to handle
one day at a time sometimes a moment at a time.
For awhile it seemed like a real downer of a story to read until I
realized it could be many folks’ reality.
I became more thankful for the families who serve and the grandparents
or significant others who shoulder such burdens and wrestle with their faith
like human beings do.

The ending of the novel was precious for sure; yet, there
are points along the way that remind us of what a true legacy looks like and it
might not be what is expected. I thought
also about how the characters had to adjust their lives to care for young
children and put off some of their dreams or desires to care for their
grandchildren. The
novel certainly gives perspective to readers who aren’t impacted by a deployed
family member, depression or having retirement plans radically altered.

While it was a tough story to read, I am thankful to have
read it and perhaps reminded of what really matters and what doesn’t!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or
services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my
blog. Regardless, I only recommend
products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my
readers. I am disclosing this in
accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning
the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Why we do what we do

When this blog began it was during a time of raising my sons and care taking for ailing inlaws. Before those seasons ended this blog morphed into writing reviews and interviewing authors. With the constant change in the Christian publishing industry and our society, our purpose expanded.

With my girlfriend coming alongside, we review all sorts of novels, hunting for sound stories. While there are a couple genres we will not review for several reasons, we remain open to looking into new opportunities to read and share about good books!

In all of what we do we aim to bring glory to God and Christ Jesus in the ministry of blogging which we believe He has blessed us to do. We are always amazed that we get to wake up and do something with such profound joy each and everyday.